It wasn’t the most pleasing sight for skipper Sachin Tendulkar and his men as the evening of August 6th, 1997 (exactly 18 years to the day) saw them at the receiving end of a forgettable scoreline.
Meanwhile, the giant manual scoreboard at RPS displayed 952/6, moreover got confused as to what its next move would be when the quadruple figures were reached.
Not in any way was it the most exciting Test match, but perhaps the most grueling for the bowlers. Played on a track that was almost heaven for batsmen, it offered hardly anything for a bowler.
On the morning of 2nd August, Tendulkar won the toss and elected to take first lease of the wicket. They were on cruise mode, reaching 280/3 at the end of day’s play. Navjot Sidhu’s 111 was followed by Tendulkar and Azharuddin’s 221-run stand on the second day. When Tendulkar was removed for 143 by debutant Mahela Jayawardene’s off Murali’s spin, Azharuddin continued his assault until Murali sent him back for 126. India eventually declared at a stirring total of 537/8, their highest in Sri Lanka. It was seemingly smooth until the Lankans launched their ruthless reply.
The start was fine for the visitors as Nilesh Kulkarni dismissed Marvan Atapattu for 26 in his debut ball, leaving Sri Lanka 39/1 at the end of day 2. But the upper- hand was short lived as Roshan Mahanama joined the opener Sanath Jayasuriya to take charge. They went after almost every bowler who posed a threat to them. They batted the whole of day 3 in a brutal response at the Indian bowlers, both reaching their centuries. On the fourth day, the duo continued their thumping, as the total reached 587/1 at close.
Sanath Jayasuriya reached his triple century; becoming the first ever Sri Lankan to do so while Mahanama scored his maiden double ton. The final day saw hundreds of Sri Lankan supporters gathering at the RPS to witness the record breaking partnership. The pair stockpiled 576 runs for the second wicket, breaking the previous record for the highest ever Test partnership made by Martin Crowe and Andrew Jones against Sri Lanka in 1990/91 (467 runs). They also became the first pair to bat two consecutive days of a Test match after Garry Sobers and Frank Worrell against England in 1959/60 and also the first to bat throughout complete play (the game between England and West Indies was interrupted by rain).
Mahanama was finally trapped by Anil Kumble for 225 runs while Jayasuriya did not survive for long as Rajesh Chauhan’s bouncy off break resulted in a simple catch to Ganguly at silly point ending his hopes of beating Brian Lara’s record for the highest score. It was a breath of fresh air for the Indians who were happy to see the double dismissal after being wicketless for two entire days. Jayasuriya’s innings included 36 fours and 2 sixes as he received a standing ovation from the crowd on his return to the dressing room.
However the walloping resumed as Aravinda de Silva and skipper Arjuna Ranatunga added another 175 runs for the 4th wicket. The already exhausted bowlers were further traumatized when debutant Mahela Jayawardene’s 66 run cameo added insult to injury while Aravinda reached his ton. Another century stand took Sri Lanka to the highest ever Test total, beating a 59-year old record held by England against Australia (903/7).
In the end the batting marathon reached 952/6 at close ending not only a tiresome day for the Indians but also questioning the RPS track whether it’s felicitous for Test cricket. Even the best bowler of their side Anil Kumble ended up with figures of 1 for 223. The extraordinary encounter produced 1489 runs with the fall of just 14 wickets, a strenuous Test for the visitors, heartbreak for the bowlers.
